Pringle’s Princess Goes To Scotland

PRINGLE OF SCOTLAND returned to its roots on Friday with the first catwalk showcase of its Princess Grace: More Than An Image collection, held in Edinburgh. The collection - a capsule offering inspired by Princess Grace of Monaco's elegant everyday wardrobe - was designed by Central Saint Martins MA and BA Fashion students, who researched the Princess's wardrobe with help from the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco. "We were concerned that the story behind the Princess Grace collection would get lost amidst a traditional Fashion Week setting, so we decided that a homecoming to Scotland would do the collection justice," Pringle's COO Tracy Chapman told us at the showcase, held at Edinburgh's Signet Library. "We are staging our first catwalk show here and allowing ourselves time to talk about the collection's journey from the initial research by the Central Saint Martins students to final production at our factory in Hawick." Thanks to Princess Grace's daughter, Princess Caroline, the students had access to family photos and video footage which gave them insight into Grace's style and her own extensive collection of Pringle knitwear. A family photo of Grace in a top with the slogan "Kelly for Brickworks" supporting her father's construction company inspired the modern "Grace" and "Kelly" sweaters found in the new capsule collection. "We're keen to collaborate with the students again as they bring such a youthful and unique perspective to our brand," Chapman added. "We've had a very successful response to the collection with people attracted to both the Grace Kelly story and the luxury of Scottish cashmere. The collection is only being stocked with one retail partner per market as we wanted to maintain complete exclusivity. We needed to work with retailers that could put it into an exhibition environment and share its story. Our only Scottish stockist, Jane Davidson, has almost sold out of their pieces due to an influx of pre-orders." The catwalk presentation follows the release of Massimo Nicosia's first seasonal collection for Pringle and the launch of the brand's new flagship store in Mayfair. "The new Mount Street store is the first step in our expansion plans," Chapman said. "We're planning more stores in 2014 and are currently investigating locations in several key cities. Our priority for the coming year is to create new retail environments that allow us to converse with our customers."